But still, I think Jobs's goal was a building that forced people to interact with coworkers, so the need to walk a long distance through other departements' halls is a feature, not a bug. Accidental collaboration, or something like that. It's based on his experience of seeing great ideas originate in places like the cafeteria.
I guess I agree. Where I work we have a giant (mostly) open office. Everyone knows everyone else. I've learned a lot about every aspect of the projects I work on, so that's pretty cool.
One great practical reason to make a ring-shaped building is it maximizes the number of rooms with windows. I mean, that's true of any courtyard building really. Having natural light is really nice, even when it's obscured by shades or blinds. I'm a big fan of it.